In my 10 team keeper league we can keep up to 7 players and you must keep atleast four. Most of the teams which finish in the top of the league are pretty deep so they have to drop some really talented guys. Most of the bottom half of the league then keeps 4 players and they can scavenge from what the other guys dropped.

When you keep less then 7 we start the draft by picking in reverse finish order until everyone has 7 players. I think that this format works pretty well and it seems like a good number of keepers. We actually had a guy who finished in 9th last year win it all this year because he drafted really well (and also had some good luck). Let me know if you have any questions about this format.

The owners in my league that are in favor of a lower number of keepers, their main gripe is "If we keep too many players, the best teams (my team without them saying as much) will have an unfair advantage because they have more to choose from and so their team will be an All-Star team."

I politely remind them that ALL fantasy teams are All-Star teams (more or less) and if it's sustained success they want and longevity, the answer is simple---draft better.

I can, however, see their point and the one thing that does concern me about a large number of keepers is that year in and year out, teams will largely look the same without many changes. I'm in Year 4 right now and to be honest, there are times when I wouldn't mind throwing some guys back and having a different cast of characters each year.

In my league, each owner may choose to keep however many players he wants - within certain constraints.

At the end of each season, each team is allotted a certain number of contract years (CYs) based on where they ended up in the standing. The higher you finish, the fewer number of CYs you get. You can then use CYs to sign players to contracts, or bid on players on other teams. Players may be signed to however long a contract you want, assuming you have enough CYs to account for each year of the contract. First and second place get 10 CYs, last place (11th and 12th) gets 16 CYs.

When a player comes off contract, then they are eligible to be bid upon by other managers in the league (i.e., they are free agents). If one of your players receives a bid, you have the option of matching the offer, if you have enough CYs.

In addition to costing 1 CY for each year you sign a player, each player you keep costs you a draft pick. We do make on exception. Each team may keep one rookie without spending a CY or a draft pick.

It's been a really fun system. We've had teams keep two or three players, while other teams kept 14 or 15. It makes it more challenging to maintain a really strong team, and facilitates movement of top players in trades. This year I traded Santana knowing that I wouldn't be able to keep him in the off-season. I still have more players than I'll be able to keep (some of my free agents will get bids I won't be able to match), so will probably move more top players.

I really like that idea, it sounds more realistic in that you're allowed to put as much stock into a certain player as you want, depending on what you have to give in CYs. I'm looking to start a league this (next) year, so that's a rule that I'll probably think of installing now.

The owners in my league that are in favor of a lower number of keepers, their main gripe is "If we keep too many players, the best teams (my team without them saying as much) will have an unfair advantage because they have more to choose from and so their team will be an All-Star team."

I politely remind them that ALL fantasy teams are All-Star teams (more or less) and if it's sustained success they want and longevity, the answer is simple---draft better.

I can, however, see their point and the one thing that does concern me about a large number of keepers is that year in and year out, teams will largely look the same without many changes. I'm in Year 4 right now and to be honest, there are times when I wouldn't mind throwing some guys back and having a different cast of characters each year.

In my league, each owner may choose to keep however many players he wants - within certain constraints.

At the end of each season, each team is allotted a certain number of contract years (CYs) based on where they ended up in the standing. The higher you finish, the fewer number of CYs you get. You can then use CYs to sign players to contracts, or bid on players on other teams. Players may be signed to however long a contract you want, assuming you have enough CYs to account for each year of the contract. First and second place get 10 CYs, last place (11th and 12th) gets 16 CYs.

When a player comes off contract, then they are eligible to be bid upon by other managers in the league (i.e., they are free agents). If one of your players receives a bid, you have the option of matching the offer, if you have enough CYs.

In addition to costing 1 CY for each year you sign a player, each player you keep costs you a draft pick. We do make on exception. Each team may keep one rookie without spending a CY or a draft pick.

It's been a really fun system. We've had teams keep two or three players, while other teams kept 14 or 15. It makes it more challenging to maintain a really strong team, and facilitates movement of top players in trades. This year I traded Santana knowing that I wouldn't be able to keep him in the off-season. I still have more players than I'll be able to keep (some of my free agents will get bids I won't be able to match), so will probably move more top players.

That's nearly identical to how my keeper league is run, however we limit the keepers between 7-13 (+/- 3 from 10) instead of completely unlimited. I absolutely love it.